Kenyon Martin’s fondest memories of New Jersey are starting to creep into his thoughts about the current Nuggets, who remind him of the two NBA Finals teams he played on.
“When we’re focused in, yeah,” the Nuggets’ power forward said. “When we’re focused in on both ends, we have just as much talent as any team in the NBA. There’s no doubt in my mind we have the talent to do it.”
The Nuggets start the post all-star break Wednesday at Philadelphia, the first of three road games that complete their longest road trip — eight games — this season.They are 4-1 on the trip and, with a 36-17 overall record, just percentage points behind San Antonio for second place in the Western Conference.
In past seasons, the Finals have been a pipe dream for the Nuggets, who have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs five consecutive seasons.
But every victory this season seems to inject new confidence into this team. Martin, whose New Jersey teams lost in the Finals in 2002 and 2003, said the Nuggets have the makeup to not just get to the playoffs but do major damage.
“We got a veteran crew,” Martin said. “Guys know what it takes to win now. We’re winning on the road, close games and things like that. Guys are hungrier than we’ve been in the past. I think that overweighs anything that can get in the way right now.”
Carmelo Anthony is even taking stock. Comparing this year’s team to the Nuggets at the all-star break last season, Anthony said: “We came a long way, man. Give Chauncey (Billups) credit, but I think everybody as a whole came a long way.”
Under coach George Karl, the Nuggets have always finished well. His teams in Denver have had an average record of 19-10 after the break, including a 25-4 finish in 2005. Last season, the Nuggets entered the playoffs having won 10 of 14.
The team’s short-term goal is to hit the 40-win milestone.
“The chant is get 40 (wins) before you lose 20,” Karl said. “I think with the guys, that’s kind of the thought process, let’s get to 40 before we lose 20. I think now we have a (great) chance of getting that done.”
Winning the Northwest Division is the next step, and the Nuggets are 3 1/2 games clear of second-place Portland. They have two games each remaining against Portland and Utah, which is six games back.
“It’s been a great run,” Karl said. “I think we’ve gone from success to a confident team, a little bit. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. Our challenges are going to be harder in the second half.
“We’re going to have some great games. But I think our guys, there’s a maturity to our team that wasn’t there last year.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
After the break
The Nuggets are 78-40 in four seasons under George Karl after the all-star break. Here’s how each season breaks down.
2005: 25-4
2006: 16-12
2007: 19-12
2008: 18-12
2009: ???
Chris Dempsey
